Tweets from Elon Musk, CEO of California-based electric car specialist Tesla, on India debut in the past couple of days indicates a delay in plan. In May, for a tweet asking the chances of Tesla debuting in India in 2017 or 2018, Musk replied: "Maybe I'm misinformed, but I was told that 30% of parts must be locally sourced and the supply doesn't yet exist in India to support that."
Also read: Tesla to India: Govt responds to Elon Musk's concern; but did it really address the issue?
In response to the concern raised by Musk, Government of India tweeted on Make in India's twitter account that FDI policy of the country does not mandate any such minimum sourcing of components by manufacturers. However, that seems not enough for Musk to fast track Tesla's India entry.
In a new tweet on Thursday, Musk said "India commits to sell only electric cars by 2030." This has further cemented the belief that Tesla cars on Indian roads is still a long way.
India commits to sell only electric cars by 2030. It is already the largest market for solar power. https://t.co/EGBNTPzmE5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017
However, Executive Chairman of Mahindra Group Anand Mahindra, who is one of the head honcho's active on social media replied to Musk and invited him to India. "Time you got out here Elon. You don't want to leave that whole market to Mahindra do you?? The more the merrier--and greener..!," Anand Mahindra tweeted in his signature style on Friday.
Time you got out here Elon. You don't want to leave that whole market to Mahindra do you?? The more the merrier--and greener..! https://t.co/IPoA9viDRN
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 2, 2017
It need to be noted that Anand Mahindra's company, Mahindra Electric is the first and the only dedicated electric four-wheeler brand in India. The brand recently announced plan for a mega boost to its production capacity of e-vehicles. Mahindra will invest on the next-generation EVs that will provide longer range and higher speeds. The reboot plan has been named as EV 2.0. The ambitious plan includes EVs with top speeds up to 200kmph and will have a range of up to 400km.
Mahindra Electric is stepping on the gas soon after Government of India's NITI Aayog expressed plans of going for all-electric car by 2030 with an objective of lowering fuel import bill and running cost of vehicles. Interestingly, Elon Musk also referred the same decision of NITI Aayog in his tweet. However, the transition period is too long for Tesla.
